[5] The neighborhood has been home to Europeans (1600s), African Americans (1700s), and Irish, Jews, Scots, Russians, Swiss and Portuguese (late 1800s).

[7][8] Clay Cove, the home of early shipyards, stood at the foot of India Street in the 19th century.

[11] In the early 1950s, the newly created Slum Clearance and Redevelopment Authority[12] highlighted Bayside and East Bayside as target neighborhoods due to its high number of immigrants and the decaying buildings caused by redlining.

The razing of Franklin Street began in 1967;[2] 130 homes and businesses were demolished and an unknown number of families relocated or were displaced.

[13] The India Street Historic District was designated by Portland City Council in 2015 after a unanimous (8–0) vote.

[19] The former home of Elias and Elizabeth Widgery Thomas, at the corner of India and Congress Street, has a granite marker on the Portland Freedom Trail.

Greater Portland Metro's route 8 (Peninsula Loop) serves India Street.